Most people assume that only nonfiction self-help books can change their outlook on life. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Fictional books possess a unique power in expressing ideas, thanks to the creative freedom they offer in sharing these ideologies. As a huge bookworm who’s read countless fiction books, today I’ll be listing 5 of my all-time favorite books and how they have impacted the way I look at the world (and also why you should read them). This article will feature no spoilers about any of the books featured below.
- . Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
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I cannot shut up about this book. It’s been my number one-ranked novel ever since I was a freshman in high school. The high tension and risk kept me engaged throughout the entire series. After her mother tragically passed away in a car accident, 16-year-old Brianna Matthews is convinced there’s something more to her mother’s death, and magic might be at play. Legendborn is more than just a murder mystery book. We get to witness Bree, a Black woman, navigate the world of PWI. As a Black-Filipino woman, I found myself relating to this story in more ways than one.
The entire Legendborn Cycle Series details with difficult topics regarding race and generational trauma. Giving the chance to observe Bree in predominantly white spaces poses the question: What does it mean when you’re the only black person in the room full of people who will do anything to see you fail? As our main character, Bree has no choice but to confront the trauma that has traversed her family for generations, and she also acknowledges the trauma that countless Black people in America have dealt with.
I fell in love with this series because of how unapologetic Tracy Deonn is when it shows the messy side of grief, growing up and the struggles of being Black in a space where we are not welcome. Reading this book when I was 14 years old opened up my eyes to generational trauma and the difficulty when it comes to breaking these curses that have been wrapped within our genes. While this series has yet to be completed, witnessing Bree grow into the women she is as she breaks generational curses and fights to heal the trauma the has lived within her family for centuries is an important and impactful story.
- . Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
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Seven Days in June is a story that immediately stuck with me. We witness main characters Eva and Shane reconnect in their adulthood after having an intense connection of a short-lived romance when they were teenagers struggling with trauma and drug addiction. This romance lasted for only a week and, by the end of it, Shane had disappeared from Eva’s life. Years later, the characters are both successful authors and find themselves writing about each other in their work.
This standalone romance novel does not just touch upon an intense connection between two people but also highlights the difficulties of drug addiction among teens and the growth these two characters went through to become sober.
I read this book when I was going through an interesting and difficult time in my life as I was nearing graduation from high school. Eva and Shane have an incredibly unique story of redemption and show how it’s never too late to heal from trauma and begin a new life. Seven Days in June was a book that tugged at my heartstrings deeply, and I found myself relating to both Shane and Eva. Witnessing them reunite as adults made me feel how Eva’s whiplash back when she was 17 and in a dark place.
I had the privilege of meeting Tia Williams in person and was able to show how much this book truly meant to me. While it still had me giggling and kicking my feet seeing Shane and Eva bantering as if they were teens again, this story also made me feel seen. While it might take a while to climb yourself out of the dark pit of despair, it’s still possible to find light, joy and love.
- Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
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Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert is another fun adult romance book. While it isn’t as hard-hitting as Seven Days In June by Tia Williams, this book is one I reread quite frequently. Eve Brown is the youngest sister and also the only one who has yet to make a name for herself. After a blowout argument with her family, Eve decides that she will show her family that she can handle herself. Until, that is, she accidentally hits Jacob Wayne with her car, who is the owner of a Bed and Breakfast place that Eve was determined to get a job at.
Now that Jacob is unable to run his business (since he has zero workers), he has no choice but to hire Eve to help run the bed and breakfast with him. Compared to the other books that are featured on this list, this is very light. It’s a fun rom-com that has a happy ending, and, though it might make you a little bit frustrated, you find yourself enjoying the journey that you went through.
Despite the lighthearted tone that this story has, it also holds the importance of learning to grow up and be accepted. The male lead, Jacob, has autism and is very open about it. Jacob being so open about having autism causes Eve to open up as the story unfolds. We find that Eve might also have autism, explaining why she never felt like she fit in, no matter how hard she tried.
Act Your Age, Eve Brown is more than just a fun rom-com. We witness the sunshine character taking care of her grumpy counterpart, but it’s also a story about self-discovery and acceptance. Eve, while appearing to be a confident gal, has her underlying issues that come to light throughout the story, which makes it incredibly easy to relate to her.
I also read this story during a difficult period in my life where I felt as though I didn’t fit in anywhere, no matter how hard I tried, but witnessing Eve and Jacob’s less-than-normal love story reminds me how you don’t need to really fit in and try to become what society tells you to be love.
- . Jade City by Fonda Lee
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Jade City by Fonda Lee is a high-action fantasy adult trilogy that features the esteemed mafia boss adjacent family, the Kauls. The Greenbone saga is a trilogy that I had never read before, and, while I am still trying to finish the series, it has made a lasting impact on me.
Jade City follows a complex world where jade provides powers to its users. This Godfather-Asian mythology combo creates an incredibly unique world. We get the opportunity to follow multiple characters from the Kaul family as they try to navigate life with a civil war going on within their country, while simultaneously trying to maintain their power against their rivals, the Mountains. This series feels less as though I’m reading an unrealistic fantasy book and more as if I’m reading a history book, one with real, exciting events.
In some fantasy novels, it’s very easy to determine that the main characters are perfect heroes without flaws. However, in this series, Lee made sure that anyone could be a villain or a hero depending on the point-of-view. While we follow the Kauls throughout the entirety of the series, we are to believe that anyone who is a part of the opposite group is the enemy. However, the Kauls could easily be viewed as the villains if we were to switch perspective.
Reading the short stories that are connected to this world and don’t follow anyone from the No Peak Clan (the organization that the Kauls run) is an eye-opening experience. With this story feeling as real as it does, these stories truly put into perspective just how much the person telling the narrative can change the story. Even within the series, we see characters themselves switch the entire narrative to a situation for their own gain. Everyone can be seen as the villain in one person’s story, but then the hero in another’s.
- . Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
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Last but definitely not least is Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I cannot speak as much as I would like regarding this book, as it’s the second installment in the series, however, I am highlighting this book instead of its first book, Gideon the Ninth, due to how much more impactful Harrow is than Gideon.
Harrow the Ninth immediately follows the gruesome events of Gideon the Ninth, which is a high science fiction story following Gideon and her frenemy Harrow as they travel through space to solve a murder mystery and gain resources for their home planet.
While the series can be difficult to follow and comprehend (as I’ve noticed when it comes to extremely high science fiction novels), it remains an incredibly fun story with a unique set of characters. The second book, Harrow the Ninth, stuck with me significantly more than the first book, as there were multiple unique aspects to it. First, the story frequently switched between second-person to third-person. Second, when the story was being told in third-person, it was retelling the events that occurred in its predecessor novel, but in a slightly altered version at the point which makes you question what truly happened in the previous book.
Second-person perspective is something that is not heavily used in literature, so when I do find it being used as one of the primary points of view, I always find it fascinating. The usage of this point of view in this book was to represent how grief affected the main character, as she is dissociating for almost the entirety of the novel. She does not feel like she’s in her body, so we, as readers, are put into the same shoes as her by reading her story in second-person.
The sole usage of second-person is enough for it to stick in my head, especially with the context of why this novel, out of all of them, is the only one written in second-person. Mixing this with the flashbacks to the altered events of book one truly puts into perspective just how powerful and draining grief is. A lot of fantasy and science fiction books tend to feature lots of death, however, none of them were able to portray just how devastating the topic of death is until Harrow the Ninth.
Fiction, I find, is the most powerful genre that writers can work in. With the creative freedom they are given, they can portray difficult and intense topics in ways that might not even cross your mind. All of these books that were featured have so many more unique features than just what I listed and deserve their own dedicated article. However, if I were to go super in-depth for each one of them, we’d be here all day. However, there’s another way to truly understand each topic, and that’s by picking up the book and reading it yourself. All of these books and their authors deserve recognition for their hard work and the love that they put into them. If you have the time, I would highly recommend picking them up and seeing how it might change your perspective in life!